The invention relates to a holder for a beverage container. The holder is used in a motor vehicle for holding a beverage container such as, for example, a beverage can, a beaker, a cup or a bottle so that it does not tip over, and is intended for installation in, for example, the central console on the transmission tunnel of the motor vehicle. The invention is not limited to the intended use mentioned.
A holder of such a kind is known from Utility Model DE 93 08 232 U1. The known holder is intended for installation in a shallow compartment at the top of a glove compartment in a motor vehicle. It can be extended outwards in the manner of a drawer by means of a slider. The known holder has a plate which is rectangular or square in plan view and which has a circular hole as an insertion opening for a beverage container. The plate can, because of the hole, be seen as a ring; it forms a support which provides an inserted beverage container with support at its periphery. The plate forming the support in the known holder is mounted at one edge so that it can be pivoted about a horizontal axis and, as a result, moved from a lowered position into a raised position and vice versa. When the plate forming the support is in the lowered position, the known holder is of low height and as a result it can be pushed into a shallow installation space. In the raised position, the known holder provides support at a height sufficient to hold an inserted beverage container.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose an alternative beverage container holder which, when not being used, can be stowed in a location of low overall height and which, in use, provides support at a height sufficient to hold an inserted beverage container so that it is prevented from tipping over.
The holder according to the invention has a first support and a second support, both of which can be moved from a lowered position into a raised position and vice versa. In addition to pivotal mountings, other guidance means, for example slideways, are possible for guiding the two supports so that they can be moved up and down between the lowered and raised positions. In the raised position, the two supports provide an inserted beverage container with lateral support at two locations on its periphery.
The lateral support is provided at as many locations on the periphery, and/or extends as far in the peripheral direction, as is required for the inserted beverage container to be supported against tipping over in any direction. The two supports can optionally co-operate with further supports or with components projecting upwards laterally next to the holder, which provide the inserted beverage container with lateral support. It is therefore not mandatory, although it is preferable, for the lateral support for the inserted beverage container to be provided exclusively by the two supports. In the lowered position, the holder has a low overall height.
In accordance with the invention, the two supports are connected in terms of drive; when the second support is raised, it raises the first support along with it and/or, vice versa, the second support, when it is lowered, lowers the first support along with it. The first support is consequently also referred to hereinbelow as the driven support, and the second support as the driving support.
In addition, the holder according to the invention has a locking element, which locks the first support against movement when it is in the raised position and/or in the lowered position. The locking element is unlocked by raising and/or lowering the second support, which means that the locking of the first support is released as a result of raising and/or lowering the second support. As a result, the first support can be driven along with the second support. The locking element can be, for example, a slider or a catch, which comes into engagement with the first support under spring bias and as a result locks the latter against movement. The second support pushes the locking element, at a disengagement surface, for example a bevel, out of engagement with the first support, against the force of the spring element.
The invention has the already mentioned advantages of a low overall height when not in use and of providing support at a nevertheless sufficient height to hold an inserted beverage container so that it is prevented from tipping over. In order to raise and lower the two supports it is necessary only to move the second support; the first support moves along with the second support. The locking element prevents unintentional lowering of the first support; the first support can be lowered only as a result of lowering the second support.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the locking element can be overpowered by pushing down on the raised first support with force. “Overpowered” is understood to mean that the first support, which is basically locked against being pushed down, is nevertheless unlocked and pushed down, that is to say can be lowered, by means of pressure of appropriate force. This avoids the raised first support from being damaged by excessively high pressure.
In an embodiment of the invention, the drive connection of the two supports has movement-allowing play; the two supports especially are resiliently connected to one another, for example by means of a spring element or a resilient rubber element. As a result of the movement-allowing play, the first support can be raised and/or lowered some distance without the second support being raised and/or lowered along with it. By that means, the locking element is unlocked at the start of raising and/or lowering of the first support, before the second support moves along with the first support. The movement-allowing play, provided in accordance with the invention, between the two supports accordingly makes it possible for solely the first support to be moved initially, which is necessary for the second support to be unlocked.
In an embodiment of the invention there is a provided a stopping arrangement against the second support—that is to say the driving support—moving of its own accord. The stopping arrangement can be implemented, for example, by means of friction—that is to say braking—of the second support, a sprung ball mechanism, or a resilient tongue having a hemispherical or triangular tooth-shaped head as a snap-in mechanism.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the spacing of the two raised supports from one another is adjustable. Adjustment of the spacing is possible by moving one of the two supports, although in the case of a pivotal mounting this can be a case of moving further beyond the raised position. Adjustment of the spacing of the two supports allows the holder to be matched to beverage containers of different diameters.
In an embodiment of the invention there is provided a pivotal mount for movably guiding at least one of two supports from the lowered position into the raised position and vice versa. A pivotal mount is a simple and reliable guidance means, which does not have a tendency to jam as a result of twisting. In accordance with a development, both supports have a pivotal mount for their guidance, in which case the pivotal mounts of both supports are located on the same side of a beverage container inserted into the holder. The two pivotal mounts especially have a common axis. This embodiment of the invention makes it possible for the mountings of both supports to be on a common shaft. In addition, pivotal mounting on a common axis or, at least, pivotal mounts that are arranged close to one another make(s) it simpler for the two supports to be connected in terms of drive.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first support is a ring or at least a partial ring, which surrounds an inserted beverage container completely or at least over a part of its periphery which is preferably greater than half the periphery. As a result, two supports pivotally mounted on a common axis make it possible for a beverage container to be held so that it is prevented from tipping over. It is not necessary for the ring to have a circular shape or a hole that is circular.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.